Electoral College Elimination

Upon Congress returning to session after the New Year 2019, Americans are confronted with a bill many will consider a slap in the face. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN) introduced a bill Thursday to eliminate the Electoral College [1].

Many perceive the Electoral College as an antiquated mechanic of the U.S. federalist system which has decided the fate of one too many presidential elections where the winner of the popular vote did not win. Cohen believes, “Americans expect and deserve the winner of the popular vote to win office. It is past time to directly elect our President and Vice President.” [1]

While it is understood why Cohen feels this way, it is crucial to understand and point out the flaws in his reasoning. To do this, one must understand how the Electoral College works and why the Electoral College exists in the first place.

How Does the Electoral College Work?

When a voter steps into a ballot box, they are not directly casting their vote for a particular candidate. Instead, they vote for fellow Americans called electors. These electors, who are appointed by the states, are “pledged to support the presidential candidate the voters have supported.” [3] The electors hold their vote much later after the official election; the Monday after the second Wednesday in December following the election, to be exact.

The Constitution states:

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress.

The total number of electors – and thus electoral votes – for the whole U.S. (including the District of Columbia) adds up to 538. Therefore, the winner must receive a majority of at least 270 votes to become president.

Why Does the Electoral College Exist?

The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College after much debate and compromise. As one of The Heritage Foundations legal experts, Hans von Spakovsky, noted in a paper on the Electoral College [2]:

In creating the basic architecture of the American government, the Founders struggled to satisfy each state’s demand for greater representation while attempting to balance popular sovereignty against the risk posed to the minority from majoritarian rule.

The Founders sought a way to empower the democratic elements of the American system without providing key areas of weakness that pure, unrestrained democracy had brought down upon great republics of the past.

The Founders were students of ancient history who understood and desired to prevent the destructive passions of direct democracy. Furthermore, as former subjects to an overreaching monarch, they equally feared the rule of an elite unresponsive to the will of the people.

They toiled over a variety of issues, including the indirect vote through intermediaries, at the 1787 Constitutional Convention.

In the end, the Electoral College was justified as providing the balance that states desired while also providing as part of a stop-gap to potentially reverse the popular vote had the populace somehow elected a criminal, traitor, or otherwise unfit-to-serve person. The Electoral College was a compromise, neither fully democratic nor aristocratic. [3]

Why Is the Electoral College Important?

Knowing that the Electoral College was a compromise between the states and an avenue to divide democratic and aristocratic philosophies – to end up in the federalist realm – why is it important today?

The system forces candidates who run for office to appeal to rural areas and smaller states. This is so that densely populated areas and states do not run away with an election, overriding the desires and needs of other areas. Farmers in Iowa likely have vastly different concerns than say bankers in New York. The federalist mechanic of an Electoral College takes these obstacles into account.

If the president were elected by strictly a popular vote, small and rural states would become irrelevant. Campaigns would ignore them altogether and spend much of their time and resources in large, populated areas. Does this sound fair?

It is up to the states – as it is a state’s right – to freely select the method in which they choose their electors. When the Electoral College was first instated, states chose to have their legislatures pick the electors, rather than the people directly. Over time, the paradigm shifted so that states often pick their electors based on the state’s popular vote. And since the Civil War, every state has opted for this “popular election” method of choosing their electors. [3]

There has been much criticism of the Electoral College because many feel that if the people elected a candidate to be president, then that is the person who should win, bar-none. Yet, one must ask themselves how radically different would the U.S. be if the Electoral College did not exist?

For starters, Abraham Lincoln – who secured less than 40 percent of the popular vote – would not have been president if he had not won the Electoral College in a landslide with 180 electoral votes instead. The North had many more people than the South and therefore, the control of the Electoral College. As a result, he was able to dominate the Northern states without gathering a single Southern state. [4]

The U.S. election system, with the aid of the Electoral College, has over 200 years of success. Changing a process that is not broken – simply for the sake of emotional swings – could easily destabilize one of the steadiest political systems in the world.

As author and Texas lawyer Tara Ross wrote in a Heritage Foundation memorandum [5]:

America’s election systems have operated smoothly for more than 200 years because the Electoral College accomplishes its intended purposes. America’s presidential election process preserves federalism, prevents chaos, grants definitive electoral outcomes, and prevents tyrannical or unreasonable rule. The Founding Fathers created a stable, well-planned, and carefully designed system—and it works.

Conclusion

When it comes to elections, “Americans should appreciate the great and long-lasting constitutional tradition bequeathed to them—including the quirky Electoral College system created by the nation’s Founders.” [3]

Despite Congress’ grumblings for change and cries of “injustice” in the name of election fraud and manipulation, remember what the Electoral College is, why it exists, how it truly works, and why it is still important regardless of the “it’s just another antiquated relic held over from the Founding Fathers” rhetoric.

For critics out there who continue to believe in the abolishment of the Electoral College, ask yourself a few questions:

Will direct elections really reduce the likelihood of disputed elections? Will they provide presidents with clearer mandates? Will they reflect the “will of the people” rather than the machinations of hired guns? And will they preserve the federal principle that is at the heart of the constitution?

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Jaise Donovan

Jaise is a conservative-libertarian who believes the sovereignty of the nation lies with "we the people" and not the government. He writes to inform others of the actions of government (or the people in it), to analyze possible outcomes of such actions, and bring to light important issues of the day. He tries to convey his thought process of how it can effect lives on a daily basis both politically and economically – for better or for worse.